{
  "id": 13752015,
  "title": "Toto Wolff praises Red Bull as Mercedes faces upgrade concerns",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/toto-wolff-praises-red-bull-as-mercedes-faces-upgrade-concerns",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-11T16:28:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motorsport.com",
    "slug": "motorsport-com",
    "url": "https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/toto-wolff-praises-max-verstappen-and-red-bull-as-mercedes-faces-upgrade-concerns/10864424/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Team principal Toto Wolff has praised Red Bull, as Mercedes grapples with concerns over recent upgrade developments. Wolff highlighted three key factors behind Red Bull's impressive performance improvements: the car itself, the development process, and the exceptional abilities of their driver, Max Verstappen. Mercedes, still uncertain about the effectiveness of their recent upgrade package, opted to test the new setup during Singapore's race weekend. Kimi Antonio drove the new car alongside his teammate George Russell, who ran the older configuration. Red Bull's modifications to the floor, diffuser, sidepods, mirrors, and halo for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have evidently paid off, as evidenced by Max Verstappen's first victory of the season and a second consecutive win in Singapore. Wolff emphasized that Red Bull's overall package, combined with Verstappen's skill, has resulted in superior performance. When Mercedes shifted to the new car during the sprint weekend, they aimed to accelerate their learning curve with two different cars. While the upgrade showed promise, it was not yet delivering the desired performance. Despite this, the team believes the new car signifies progress and hopes to continue improving ahead of the upcoming Austin race, crucial for setting the direction for the next season.",
  "summary": "Mercedes has a new upgrade for it to analyse, but team principal Toto Wolff has briefly turned his focus to Red Bull who have shown incredible improvement over the last few races. The Austrian believes the gains have come from three aspects: the car, the development path, and Max Verstappen - a driver who has the ability to extract everything from what he's driving. The Brackley outfit is yet ...…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Motorsport.com",
        "title": "Toto Wolff defends George Russell after costly sprint crash in Singapore",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/toto-wolff-defends-george-russell-after-costly-sprint-crash-in-13495966",
        "published": "2026-10-10T18:48:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Toto Wolff defends George Russell after costly sprint crash in Singapore",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/toto-wolff-defends-george-russell-after-costly-sprint-crash-in",
        "published": "2026-10-10T18:48:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}